CVE-2023-53440
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix sysfs interface lifetime The current nilfs2 sysfs support has issues with the timing of creation and deletion of sysfs entries, potentially leading to null pointer dereferences, use-after-free, and lockdep warnings. Some of the sysfs attributes for nilfs2 per-filesystem instance refer to metadata file "cpfile", "sufile", or "dat", but nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group that creates those attributes is executed before the inodes for these metadata files are loaded, and nilfs_sysfs_delete_device_group which deletes these sysfs entries is called after releasing their metadata file inodes. Therefore, access to some of these sysfs attributes may occur outside of the lifetime of these metadata files, resulting in inode NULL pointer dereferences or use-after-free. In addition, the call to nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is made during the locking period of the semaphore "ns_sem" of nilfs object, so the shrinker call caused by the memory allocation for the sysfs entries, may derive lock dependencies "ns_sem" -> (shrinker) -> "locks acquired in nilfs_evict_inode()". Since nilfs2 may acquire "ns_sem" deep in the call stack holding other locks via its error handler __nilfs_error(), this causes lockdep to report circular locking. This is a false positive and no circular locking actually occurs as no inodes exist yet when nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() is called. Fortunately, the lockdep warnings can be resolved by simply moving the call to nilfs_sysfs_create_device_group() out of "ns_sem". This fixes these sysfs issues by revising where the device's sysfs interface is created/deleted and keeping its lifetime within the lifetime of the metadata files above.
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-476CVE-2023-53440 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability
What is NULL Pointer Dereference?
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.17
and later are affected. Fixed in
4.14.313,
4.19.281,
5.4.241,
5.10.178,
5.15.107,
6.1.24,
6.2.11,
6.3
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53440 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1942ccb7d95f287a312fcbabfa8bc9ba501b1953
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3dbee84bf9e3273c4bb9ca6fc18ff22fba23dd24
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/42560f9c92cc43dce75dbf06cc0d840dced39b12
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2023-53440?
CVE-2023-53440 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.17 onward and has been patched in 4.14.313, 4.19.281, 5.4.241 and others. CVE-2023-53440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53440?
CVE-2023-53440 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53440?
Yes — CVE-2023-53440 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.14.313, 4.19.281, 5.4.241 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2023-53440 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2023-53440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →